Soft Shell Crab Salad

I had to make this dish after trying it at Spicy Bite. I was lucky enough to find the crabs at my local Korean mart. They are clearly in season as I am seeing them everywhere. I didn’t even like crab that much before I tried this dish. Now I can’t stop thinking about it. These crispy little critters are just the ticket. I made a nice fruity Asian salad to accompany them and it was so good, I made it again the next night. You could also fry them and have them in a sandwich or with pasta if you wanted something more hearty. Below is a picture of the crabs in their box. I found them in the frozen section so you know what to look for. They were 4000 for 1kg so they are pretty cheap.

Ingredients

Crabs

1kg of soft shell crabs (this yields a lot and will serve 2 fat people or 4 normal people)

100g of seasoned flour

200g of panko bread crumbs

300ml of buttermilk

1 teaspoon of paprika (optional)

Salad

1 Red pepper

3-4 handfuls of salad leaves

3-4 Spring onions

1/2 a pomegranate

A handful of cilantro leaves

1/2 a cucumber

Dressing

6 tablespoons of sesame seed oil

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

3 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce

1 tablespoon of lime juice (lazy lime will be fine if you don’t have fresh)

1 clove of garlic

1-2 inch piece of ginger

Directions

1. Defrost your crabs then give them a little rinse in water then pat them dry with kitchen paper.

2. Set up three bowls ready for the coating. In the first put your seasoned flour, in the second your buttermilk, and the third should have your panko crumbs mixed with the paprika.

3. Heat your oil to 180 degrees. Then dip your crabs first into the seasoned flour, then into the buttermilk and finally into the bread crumbs. You will need to cook them in batches as you don’t want to overcrowd the pan. Deep or shallow fry the crabs for a few minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan and cook the next batch. You can keep any cooked ones warm on a tray in the oven.

4. To make the dressing, put the sesame seed oil, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and lime juice in a jar. Season with salt and pepper then crush the garlic and ginger and add to the jar too. Then give the jar a good shake. Any leftover dressing will keep for a few days in the fridge.

5. To make the salad finely slice the cucumber and red pepper. Tear the salad leaves into bite sized pieces and arrange on a plate. Top with the cucumber and pepper. Then top with pomegranate seeds, spring onions, and cilantro leaves. Drizzle with your dressing and top with as many crabs as you can manage.